Ivory Coast and AS Monaco midfielder Yaya Toure, the younger brother of Arsenal defender Kolo Toure, is poised to sign a transfer deal with Barcelona after travelling to the Catalan capital on Sunday to finalise the details of a move from AS Monaco.

Toure, speaking to Barca TV on Sunday, said: "It's a great opportunity for me because Barça are one of the best teams in the world."

"It is a big step forward for me to come to Barcelona. They play great football in the Spanish league," continued the Ivorian, finishing with: "I want to play for Barça."

It looks like 24-year-old Toure will be joining new £16 million Barça signing Thierry Henry, who is a very good friend of his brother Kolo, at the Camp Nou, with Barcelona saying that they were still in talks with the Championnat Ligue 1 club over the transfer of Toure, but are hoping to seal the deal early next week.

Toure, who has earned 17 caps for the 'Elephants of Cote D'Ivoire' and scored 2 goals for his country, featured alongside his brother in the World Cup Finals 2006 Germany, and joined French giants AS Monaco from Greek side Olympiakos last year after a pay dispute with the Greek club, and scored 5 goals in his 27 appearances for the club.

Toure is ranked as one of the most promising defensive midfielder's in Europe and almost joined his older brother at Arsenal when, in 2006 the Gunners had a €7 million offer rejected from Olympiakos.

He has since had interest from a range of European clubs, including Olympique Lyon, Manchester United, Chelsea, Everton, and Champions League holders A.C. Milan, but now looks certain to be a Barcelona player within the next few days.

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